>Whew! I'm Safe Now

>Not that I wasn't safe earlier today, but today's wanderings for my book led me to a friendly botanica (as opposed to the very scary one I went to in Queens a few weeks ago where a chicken foot dangling from a string of beads from the ceiling hit me in the head and I gladly paid at least five times the price of a good luck candle just so they wouldn't curse me) in the Bronx. Not only were prices not based on race, they were posted clearly for all to see. Imagine my delight when I discovered that the pink and white can of "GO AWAY EVIL" (aka "Aroma Frescante KITAMAL") air freshener was only $2.39! Not only that, but I got 30% more for free! There are definitely times after Husband or I use the bathroom that it smells like something from the depths of hell is hanging around, so this will be very handy.

Prior to my important find (supposedly this botanica is the largest in NYC), I took a subway and then a bus and then walked for 10 minutes across the SUNY Maritime College campus to reach the Maritime Industry Museum. Inside Fort Schuyler, this place is crammed to the hull with crazy shit that you can play with and also ogle. As I was poking around and taking notes, the director of the museum walked by.

"Are you writing a story about us?" he asked and adjusted his red bow tie.

I explained about the book, and he invited me into his office. As he gave me info about the museum, he asked me if I had read Maritime Museums of North America Including Canada.

"Um, no," I said. I guess I didn't do a good job explaining what my book is about.

"Well, we have a few copies lying around here," he said as he scanned a bookshelf. "Here!" He stretched his 6 foot plus frame a bit and plucked a book from the shelf. "You can have this."

"Thanks," I said as I embraced the 468 page (not including three introductions) tome. Suddenly, I had renewed hope that my desired follow up book on medical history museums of the United States (and the world!) could actually get published. Ah, to dream.